1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle seats, and in particular to vehicle seats that have a seat cushion having a seating region.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known seats of industrial vehicles, such as forklifts, have seating sensors for detecting a seated position of an operator in order to allow the operator to operate machines and instruments on the condition that the operator is seated on the seat. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-37256 discloses a technique of providing a seating sensor disposed at the central portion of a seating region of a seat cushion for detecting a seated position of an occupant. According to this technique, as an occupant is seated on the seat cushion, a seating switch disposed at the central portion of the seating region is depressed, so that the seated position can be detected.
However, with the above technique, there is a possibility that the seated position cannot be detected, for example, in the case that an operator of a forklift, who is seated on a seat, rises his or her hip away from the seat by leaning over the seat in order to accurately position lift forks during a loading or unloading operation.
Therefore, there has been a need for vehicle seats that enable to keep detection of a seating position of an occupant even if the seating posture of the occupant has been changed due to relaxing of his or her posture.